BASEBALL: Indians split doubleheader with Harrisburg

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The baseball Indians continued their recent surge on Saturday, getting more solid pitching from their staff and a grand total of 24 hits in a split with area powerhouse Harrisburg. The two teams met at the Ballpark at Du Quoin High School for a doubleheader after rain on Friday left the Bulldogs&#39; home field unplayable.

Du Quoin hurlers Garrett Dorsey and A.J. Smith combined for a no-hitter in the Indians&#39; 7-3 victory in game one, then the Bulldogs had just four hits in the second game, but it was enough to hold on for a 5-4 win.

"The guys that threw for us today did a great job," said DHS head baseball coach Tim Craft. "They gave up four hits in fourteen innings of baseball against a really, really good team. If we&#39;re going to be disappointed about something, we probably walked too many, but the kids on the mound did a really good job."

Playing as the away team, the Indians drew first blood in game one when Travis Chapman singled to drive in Brenden Fred, who had also singled, in the top of the first. The Bulldogs got it right back, however, as Cameron Cummins led off with a walk in the bottom half for Harrisburg and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Younger.

Two costly errors by the Bulldogs and a single by Fred put two more runs on the board for Du Quoin in the third, and Jon Boss and Austin Masnker had hits in the fourth to put the Indians up 4-3. All three of Harrisburg&#39;s runs in the first game were manufactured after leadoff walks.

Dorsey and Kegan Robbins added RBIs in the fifth, and N. Boss drove in a run in the sixth to open the gap.

Meanwhile, Smith came in after the fourth to take over on the mound. The freshman right-hander walked the first batter he faced, then didn&#39;t allow another baserunner while striking out six of the nine hitters he opposed.

"A.J. Smith came in behind (Dorsey) and really locked it down," Craft said. "We took advantage of some mistakes that (Harrisburg) made. Really, all day, we had a really good approach and the plate and were hitting line drives."

Fred (3-4, 2 R), Mansker (2-4, 2 R, RBI) and Camden Youngman (2-3, BB, R) each finished with multiple hits for DHS in the first game Saturday. Chapman (1-4, RBI), Dorsey (1-4, 2B, R, RBI), J. Boss (1-4, R) and Robbins (1-4, RBI) also had hits.

Losing pitcher Younger led the Bulldogs at the plate in game one going 0-for-2, but with a pair of runs driven in.

In game two, the Indians were far less successful in stranding Harrisburg runners on base as five walks in the fifth inning allowed the Bulldogs to break a 3-3 tie and go up by a pair of runs.

Mansker, Fred, N. Boss, Chapman and J. Boss all had hits in a three-run first inning for Du Quoin, but the offense failed to string hits together after that until the seventh.

Champan led off that inning with a double and his courtesy runner Nathan Harris scored on a single by Dorsey, but reliever Ryne Roper got a strikeout and a fly-out to end the threat and the game.

Fred (2-2, 2 BB, R), Youngman (2-4), Chapman (2-3, 2B, BB, RBI), Mansker (1-4), N. Boss (1-4, R) Dorsey (1-3, BB, RBI) and J. Boss (1-4, RBI) accounted for the Indians&#39; eleven hits in the second game. J. Boss pitched four plus innings before Camdon Mercier finished the game on the hill for Du Quoin.

Roper (1-3, BB, 2 R, RBI), Younger (1-2, BB), Tyler McGowan (1-2, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI) and Cooper Thompson (1-2, BB, 2 RBI) hit safely for Harrisburg in game two. Cody Hall got the victory on the mound, working into the seventh before Roper came in for the save.

Coming into Saturday, Indian pitching had given up just three runs in their previous three starts, and after surrendering just four hits against Harrisburg (16-5-1), the staff seems to be settling into their roles and finding a groove.

"We always know coming into this doubleheader that it&#39;s always going to be a good measuring stick for where we&#39;re at during the year," Craft said. "I think the kids showed what they&#39;re capable of. Hopefully that same effort that we&#39;ve gotten all week can continue for the rest of the year."

Du Quoin (12-9, 4-4) travels to Mississippi Division leader Nashville on Monday.

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